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Nearly 50 participants from around the world will gather for a three-day, hands-on anatomy workshop

IU Northwest File Photo

The International Human Cadaver Prosection Program (IHCPP), a unique medical program held at the Indiana University School of Medicine – Northwest (IUSM-NW) located on the Indiana University Northwest campus in Gary, Ind., will take place July 31 – August 2, 2012.

This hands-on and innovative medical program is the only one in the country that allows non-physician and non-medical student participants the opportunity to become active volunteers in the IUSM-NW gross anatomy lab.

Forty-four individuals have been selected to participate in the 2012 summer prosection program. They will gain detailed knowledge of human anatomy, medical imaging, and wound suturing, as well as a greater understanding of tissue histology, embryology, prosthetics, orthotics, and orthopedics medical specialties.

The participants will prepare the body donors for the Fall 2012 gross anatomy class by removing the donors’ skin and body fat to expose organs, muscles and other anatomical structures.

This is the 13th year for the program, which is under the direction of Ernest Talarico, Ph.D., IUSM-NW associate professor of medical education and course director of human gross anatomy and embryology. Participants will come from around the United States, as well as from Canada, Egypt, Haiti and Spain.

Two High School Participants

Eighty-two percent of this year’s participants are students from various educational levels and fields of study, the majority being undergraduate, graduate or medical school students. But two students, in particular, will stand out amongst the crowd, since they are just high school students.

Allison Krone, 16, a junior at Peoria Notre Dame High School in Peoria, Ill. and Joseph Bobo, a junior at Lake Central High School in St. John, Ind., will find themselves working alongside some students who are twice their age, and with professionals who are, in some cases, decades older than they are.

Since the age of seven, Bobo has had a strong desire to help and heal the sick, a passion further strengthened through his high school studies. His interest in the physics of the human body was accelerated through his Biology honors course and his independent research in the medical field. Bobo now looks to the prosection program as another opportunity for him to ‘gain exposure in the medical field, and help him to achieve his future goals.’

Krone said she is grateful not only for the learning opportunity but also for the anatomical donors who make this program possible.

"I will learn from this opportunity about the medical field I may wish to pursue once I've graduated from high school," she said. "The donor will help me to learn that process, and in a sense, they will be my teacher."

Varied Experience

All student participants, like Krone and Bobo, will work under close direction and guidance with IUSM-NW faculty, as well as with eight professional participants.

“This year’s professional participants bring substantial medical knowledge and expertise to the table, which will create an enriching learning experience for all, and will ultimately benefit all gross anatomy students,” Talarico said.

First Patient

The IHCPP program is much aligned with both Krone and Bobo's sense of gratitude, respect and professionalism; all prosection participants, in addition to learning basic anatomy, will be encouraged to celebrate human dignity.

In accordance with the ‘Talarico Protocol for Human Gross Anatomy,’ (Clinical Anatomy Journal) donors in the lab are treated with the same dignity and consideration that living patients would expect to receive from their physicians.

Prosectors are reminded that the donors have essentially become “first patients” for them and for the fall medical students who will follow. This means that donors should be referred to by their own names.

Additionally, as part of the ‘Talarico Protocol,’ summer prosectors are given the opportunity to correspond with families of the donors. The fall semester medical students are also given the opportunity, in some instances, to meet the families, of their donors. It is an experience, Talarico explained, that can have a fundamental impact on their future interaction with patients.

“The relationship and bond that is developed between the medical students and the donors’ families is unique,” Talarico said. “To the best of my knowledge, this approach to medical education is not practiced at any other school in the nation.”

The following individuals will participate in the 2012 International Human Cadaver Prosection Program:

The IHCPP is a global effort, with more than 20 sponsors and contributors. This year, the following hospital systems in Lake and Porter County are program sponsors: Community Healthcare System, Franciscan Alliance, Methodist Hospitals, and Porter Health System.

Without the generous support of this year’s sponsors and contributors, the 2012 prosection program would not be a success: